Shub-Niggurath (莎耶尼古拉丝) is the same as Nicholas, Nicholas is just an adaptation
Chapter 360: Athena Sees No Hope
Shaye Nicholas’s(Shub-Niggurath) tall figure leaned against an iceberg, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Fighting a strange reaction in her body, her eyes, filled with shame and fury, darted around. But in this icy wilderness, there was no one but herself.
A deathly silence hung over the land.
Damn it, what’s going on?
Even with Shaye Nicholas’s vast knowledge, she couldn’t understand what was happening to her body at this moment. It was a bizarre experience unlike anything she’d ever encountered.
Pressing her small hand against her abdomen, she could feel an inexplicable contour beneath her palm.
Biting her lip with silvery-white teeth, Shaye Nicholas struggled to suppress any embarrassing sounds. Her mind clung precariously to its last vestiges of clarity, desperately searching for answers.
She had thought that the damned bastard who had set this trap for her could only affect her within the Imperial City. Once she left the Imperial City, that mysterious magic would no longer have any influence over her.
But now, even though she was thousands of miles away in the Xuelian Mountains, so far from the Imperial City, her body was still experiencing this damned reaction.
Was that bastard following her?
Or could that strange, mysterious magic, which even the incredibly powerful Shaye Nicholas couldn’t detect, affect her regardless of the spatial distance?
If it were the former, Shaye Nicholas, while fearing the opponent’s strength, could still grudginglyaccept it.
But if it were the latter, then it was truly disastrous. Could it be that she would be bound by this strange magic for the rest of her life, constantly under its influence?
The thought of this reaction suddenly occurring while she was in the laboratory during a critical step, communicating with others, or even casting magic during battle…
How could she function?
For a moment, Shaye Nicholas felt on the verge of collapse.
If it truly came to that, she might as well not live; it would be too humiliating.
The reaction in her body intensified. Even while biting her lip, slight moans occasionally escaped her nostrils. Her body trembled involuntarily. In stark contrast to the burning heat within her, Shaye Nicholas’s eyes grew increasingly cold.
Kill…
Kill him.
No matter who that bastard was, she had to kill him.
A delicate white hand slowly rose, fingertips trembling slightly. The magic power within her body was in complete disarray due to the dreadful reaction. Despite being one of the most powerful mages in the world, even casting a simple spell had become incredibly difficult.
“Super… Perception!”
Finally, suppressing the urge to moan, Shaye Nicholas cast a supplementary enhancement spell on herself.
Just as the spell completed, melodious sounds escaped Shaye’s cherry lips, echoing across the snowy landscape, uncontrollable.
Super Perception.
This spell granted Shaye extremely acute senses.
However, it also made her doubly sensitive. The already overwhelming sensation now surged towards her like tidal waves.
Shaye felt her body floating like a willow catkin in the clouds, then tossing like a small boat on the crest of waves in a violent storm.
Her body began to convulse and tremble uncontrollably.
The entire ordeal lasted for over half an hour before finally subsiding.
Leaning against the iceberg, Shaye’s body slowly slumped to the ground. Even with Shaye’s strength and willpower, she had reached her limit.
The aftershocks of the “tidal wave” still reverberated through her body. Her chest heaved rapidly, and her black dress was disheveled.
That was because Shaye had lost control.
It was several minutes before Shaye’s condition gradually stabilized. Her cheeks were still flushed, but at least the unbearable sensation had subsided.
Taking a deep breath, Shaye suddenly raised her head, her crimson eyes gazing into the distance.
Shaye now knew the source of the strange reaction affecting her body… Although it was only a general direction, Shaye believed that it wouldn’t take long to find that bastard.
And then, he would understand how terrifying the Dark Witch truly was.
She would teach him a lesson using hundreds of different methods.
With a grim expression, Shaye soared in the direction she sensed, a gust of cold wind mixed with snowflakes brushing against her. Shaye only felt a chilling discomfort beneath her skirt.
…
Elsewhere.
Athena and Sylph.
Both of them had many matters to attend to.
Within Athena’s soul resided six divine statues and countless chains.
Sylph’s soul still contained a dozen or so Evil God threads.
These were things that needed to be dealt with as soon as possible. As long as these things remained within their souls, they lived under the constant threat of the Evil God’s aura. Collapse could happen at any moment.
However, the world didn’t revolve around them. Even they had many responsibilities.
Neither Athena nor Sylph had the authority to refuse Qin Chu’s orders.
They wanted Qin Chu to help cleanse the threads from their souls? Fine, but if they didn’t even listen to him, why would he help them?
They had also enjoyed themselves while being cleansed?
Please, Qin Chu had no shortage of beautiful women around him.
Even outstanding women like Athena and Sylph didn’t hold much of an advantage in Qin Chu’s palace. Even the proud Sylph had to admit this fact.
Of course, compared to Sylph, Athena had more on her mind.
Sylph didn’t know that the first-generation hero, Jello, could no longer be resurrected because a soul fragment had been crushed.
But Athena knew.
She even knew more about the fundamental information.
However, Athena had carefully kept these secrets to herself, never telling anyone. Even Qin Chu didn’t know the extent of her knowledge…
Lately, Athena had been very restless.
She loathed her suspicious nature but couldn’t control it.
Various matters constantly replayed in her mind.
Why did Jie Luo save her and invite her to join the Hero Squad? Compared to the other members, she was practically an outsider.
And why did Qin Chu help her? Was it just to enjoy her body? Athena knew her body was alluring to the opposite sex, but she absolutely believed that Qin Chu wasn’t the kind of man who would lose himself to lust.
She hadn’t interacted with Qin Chu that much, yet she seemed to have fallen for him. Was it because he had saved her from Airi and Eileen?
This man possessed a cunning mind that sent chills down Athena’s spine.
Everything he did had a specific purpose.
He had skillfully concealed his true face, deceiving everyone in the Heavenly Continent.
Nobles and commoners alike, even seasoned veterans like Augustus, Wadsworth, and Saint Monique, were all manipulated by Qin Chu.
As for the so-called actions of the former Hero Squad, they now seemed as comical as a clown’s performance.
She wondered if Qin Chu secretly laughed to himself while watching the Hero Squad members carry out their various schemes and plans.
The Hero Squad had devised so many plans against Qin Chu, none of which had succeeded. They had tried to obtain Jie Luo’s soul fragments, and the only one they got was bestowed upon them by Qin Chu himself.
Yet, for this single soul fragment, the former ten-member Hero Squad was now reduced to five, with one having defected.
Once such a powerful force, it had now fragmented and become unprecedentedly weak.
Benson, Karsus, Ronald, Muse… So many deaths were related to Qin Chu, yet this man had cleverly planned everything in advance, severing all traceable clues.
Benson and Ronald were killed by Lomond.
Although Karsus died at Qin Chu’s hand, it was more like a public trial conducted by Qin Chu, with absolute justification.
Even though Athena considered herself relatively intelligent and, due to their dealings, had a fairly good relationship with Qin Chu, she shuddered with fear whenever she thought about these things.
Athena had a subtle premonition that things were definitely not as simple as they appeared.
To this day, she still didn’t know Qin Chu’s true objective.
As night fell, Athena would curl up in her blankets, contemplating these matters, but the more she thought, the more terrified she became.
She didn’t know what Qin Chu was planning, but… she couldn’t sense any warmth from him.
Everyone in the Heavenly Continent believed that Qin Chu, the hero, would bring hope to the world.
Only Athena knew that what Qin Chu was about to bring was definitely not something as warm and comforting as hope.
“What are you thinking about? Your face is so pale.” A familiar voice reached her ears.
Athena’s pale face flinched, finally breaking free from her deep fear. She glanced at Sylph, who was dressed in a maid outfit, beside her.
Because Qin Chu had saved Sylph once, the condition of the deal was for her to serve as his maid.
The duration was unspecified.
Wearing a maid outfit while staying with Qin Chu was one thing, but now, even when carrying out missions outside, Sylph hadn’t changed into her practical, close-fitting leather armor.
The Sylph of the past had hated these fluttering clothes the most.
Athena could see that Sylph, perhaps unconsciously, seemed to enjoy life as a maid by Qin Chu’s side.
Athena forced a smile and tossed two branches into the fire in front of her: “Nothing, just thinking about some things… By the way, Sylph…”
“What do you think of Qin Chu?”
“A shameless scumbag.” Sylph’s reply was crisp and straightforward, only her fair cheeks flushed slightly. “But, not annoying.”
Chapter 361: Jello’s Fourth Soul Fragment
A shameless scumbag, but not annoying?
A rather peculiar answer.
The corners of Athena’s mouth lifted slightly, but she sighed inwardly.
Sylph’s response revealed her attitude towards Qin Chu. If he were truly a shameless scumbag, it would be impossible not to find him annoying.
This answer, coupled with the fact that she still hadn’t changed out of her maid outfit even after leaving Qin Chu’s side, confirmed Athena’s suspicions.
This elf had probably fallen unconsciously, yet she remained oblivious.
Athena could understand Sylph’s situation.
Sylph’s life was in Qin Chu’s hands, and Qin Chu treated her quite well. Furthermore, when her former comrades abandoned her in the Demon Seven Princes Lomond’s territory, it was Qin Chu who appeared, disregarding the danger, and rescued her.
The hero saving the damsel might be a cliché, but it was indeed the most effective way to win a woman’s heart.
No matter how powerful and proud Sylph was, she was still a woman. When alone and on the verge of falling into the abyss, she naturally longed for a warm and broad chest to lean on.
As long as the man wasn’t too unattractive, she would likely develop some feelings.
Athena ruffled her hair in frustration. She suddenly felt like a terrible person compared to the relatively simple Sylph.
It was true that Qin Chu was suspicious.
However, the fact that he had saved her from Eileen and Airi was undeniable.
When she was attacked by the “God”, it was Qin Chu who risked entering her soul world and destroyed the divine statue rooted within.
Qin Chu had saved her twice, yet here she was, harboring suspicions. Athena felt ashamed of herself.
Athena’s sudden action startled Sylph, who looked at her with a strange expression: “Is something wrong?”
“Nothing…” Athena replied sullenly, adding a silent self-deprecating comment in her mind: It’s just that compared to you, I’m an irredeemable bad woman.
After a brief pause, Athena spoke again: “By the way, Sylph, do you think there’s still hope for Jie Luo?”
One of his soul fragments had been crushed, but did that mean Jie Luo truly couldn’t be resurrected?
Sylph glanced at Athena, exasperated. At a time like this, she was still thinking about the former Hero Squad’s plan?
Sister Ekaterina had said that Loseweisse was a spy deliberately planted by Qin Chu, but Sylph wasn’t an idiot. From the way Ekaterina looked at Qin Chu, she could sense the Valkyrie’s feelings.
By now, she had probably been turned and become Qin Chu’s spy within Loseweisse’s ranks.
Who in the palace couldn’t see it?
It was just that everyone tacitly understood and didn’t want to break the illusion.
As for herself, her life was in Qin Chu’s hands, and her body had already grown accustomed to him.
Although she had struggled before, after experiencing the betrayal of her former Hero Squad members, Qin Chu’s rescue, and Loseweisse’s current arrogance, Sylph’s thoughts had long since faded.
The more time she spent with him, the more Sylph felt Qin Chu’s power and fearfulness.
Compared to continuing to expend energy on a plan that was unlikely to succeed, Sylph felt that her current life was more comfortable. In short, she had no desire to disrupt what she currently had.
In her twenty-six years of life, before meeting Jie Luo, she had lived in bullying, humiliation, fear, and torment. After meeting Jie Luo, she had almost constantly been training and fighting monsters.
Peaceful days like these were rare.
As for Athena… Don’t you know your own situation?
Sylph poked the fire irritably and turned a roasting rabbit. Its surface was golden brown, sprinkled with coarse salt, and beginning to emit an enticing aroma.
It was said that elves didn’t eat meat, only vegetables.
But Sylph found that too boring.
“Athena…” After a short pause, Sylph finally spoke. She didn’t answer Athena’s question, but instead asked, “What do you think of the current Loseweisse?”
Athena frowned: “She… seems to have become stronger.”
“The original Loseweisse wasn’t my match, but now I’m not sure I can defeat her.”
Such a significant increase in strength within such a short period was hard to imagine. It would be impossible without some special encounter.
Most importantly, the current Loseweisse gave Athena an instinctive repulsion, as if she had encountered something utterly abhorrent.
“Anything else?”
“Her personality has become worse. Perhaps because of her increased strength, her true nature is showing.” Athena shrugged.
The Loseweisse of the past had pretended to be well-behaved, cute, innocent, and pure. The current Loseweisse had completely embraced the role of “Her Majesty the Queen”.
Even when facing her former teammates, she spoke in a commanding tone. It was as if they were no longer comrades who fought side by side, but merely her servants and slaves.
Athena disliked this attitude as well.
Although in Athena’s eyes, that posture was merely that of a pathetic clown.
“Then do you think, even if our original plan goes perfectly and Lord Jie Luo is resurrected, what will happen?”
“I’ll tell you. The day before Jie Luo’s resurrection, Loseweisse will find a way to eliminate me, you, Sister Ekaterina, and the traitor Eileen.”
“Even if Jie Luo is resurrected, he will only have Loseweisse by his side.”
Of course, Loseweisse was also the one being kept in the dark… When everyone was a traitor, the only one who wasn’t became the traitor.
Almost every member of the former Hero Squad harbored secrets they didn’t want others to know.
The plan had long since crumbled, and Jie Luo could no longer be resurrected.
Whether this was her true thought or just an excuse, this was Sylph’s stance. She no longer wanted to contribute anything to Jie Luo’s resurrection.
As she spoke, Sylph tore off a piece of rabbit meat and tossed it to Athena.
Athena felt slightly irritated. She chewed the meat in small bites, swallowing with her slender neck, which strangely exuded a captivating allure.
Although it was just simple roasted meat, after eating it, her mouth was greasy, and the back of her throat felt uncomfortably oily.
Sylph took out a bottle of pink liquid from her storage ring, which was either a drink or a magic potion. She gulped down more than half the bottle and then handed it to Athena.
There weren’t so many taboos when they were out on a mission.
Athena took the bottle and shook it slightly. The light pink liquid swayed gently inside, looking quite appealing.
“What is this?” Athena asked curiously.
“Bought it from the Mage Association. They say it’s suitable for mages traveling, can be used as a drink, and also accelerates magic and physical recovery.” Sylph explained briefly.
Before leaving Qin Chu’s palace, she had prepared many things.
However, the last two bottles she drank tasted a bit strange, slightly sweeter.
Perhaps it was because she had just eaten roasted meat and her mouth was dry and salty. Sylph didn’t think much of it.
Indeed, she could feel a slight magical fluctuation, and since Sylph had already drunk half a bottle, Athena didn’t hesitate and finished the rest.
Not a single drop was left.
There was no way around it. In this vast wilderness, food and water were precious resources.
Although they had prepared a lot before setting out, the time and energy consumed on this mission still exceeded their expectations.
Sweeping her pink tongue over her lips, swallowing the last drop, Athena looked at Sylph: “Sylph, what do you think of Jie Luo?”
“Jie Luo?” Sylph furrowed her brows, seemingly troubled. After a while, she said, “To be honest, I still don’t understand why Jie Luo chose me to be a member of the Hero Squad.”
“I never questioned it before.”
“But now I find it strange. Although I was a fugitive back then, I should have been different from Karsus, Muse, Benson, and Ronald, right? Who knows, maybe it was just because of my special elf identity?”
“And what’s even stranger is, why did I fall for Jie Luo in the first place? It’s different for you. Jie Luo at least saved you from that mage. Nothing like that happened to me. Was it just because we spent a lot of time together?”
Athena frowned. Was Sylph the same?
It was just that Sylph wasn’t as suspicious as she was, and didn’t dwell on this question.
Muttering to herself, she stood up, patted the dust and fallen leaves from her maid skirt, and said, “It’s about time we continued our search.”
“If the information we gathered earlier is correct, the place where a suspected meteor fell the year Jie Luo died should be in this forest…”
Sylph looked up at the towering peaks in front of her, a sense of unease rising in her heart.
Searching for a small crystal in such a vast area was an incredibly daunting task.
Athena also nodded and stood up: “Perhaps we can find some helpers.”
“Helpers?” Sylph was even more puzzled.
Then, she saw Athena take out a flute from her spatial ring. After a moment of hesitation, she put it to her lips and began to play.
Ssss…
As soon as she heard the sound, Sylph instinctively covered her ears.
Gods, what kind of flute could produce such a bizarre sound?
It sounded like serrated teeth scraping against a steel bar, hoarse, sharp, and incredibly unpleasant.
After just a few seconds, Sylph felt her scalp tingle and her ears about to be pierced.
What made Sylph even more distressed was that, along with the horribly discordant flute music, rustling sounds began to emerge from the surroundings, as if countless small animals were crawling quickly through the grass and on the ground.
With the help of the moonlight, Sylph looked around.
In the next instant, goosebumps erupted on her fair skin.
What were those things?
The ground was densely covered with a layer of gray and black rats of all sizes. Almost everywhere she could see was filled with these ugly and filthy creatures.
Countless pairs of bean-sized eyes flickered with an eerie red light.
Not only the ground, but even the nearby branches were crawling with rats, squirrels, and other rodent-like creatures she couldn’t name.
“Hey, Athena, what are you doing?”
“When did you learn such… ugh, disgusting magic?” Sylph was about to break down, almost throwing a spell.
She had no way to deal with cockroaches, rats, and the like.
Athena didn’t answer, the flute music continued, and suddenly the notes became high-pitched.
The countless rats surrounding them, as if stimulated, twitched and their fur stood on end.
A few seconds later, Athena seemed to have given these rodents an order through the flute music.
The dense swarm of rats abruptly turned and scurried in all directions.
The flute finally left Athena’s lips.
With so many helpers, it should be possible to find Jie Luo’s soul fragment, right?
But this time, Athena didn’t intend to give the soul fragment to Loseweisse, nor did she plan to give it to Qin Chu immediately.
She would decipher the information stored within the soul fragment herself as soon as she obtained it.
